V. 


.  25 


isp- 


OP  THE        ^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


d/./p-o 


T>^ 


THE  CZECHOSLOVAK  STATE 


THE 

CZECHOSLOVAK 

STATE 

BY 

CHARLES  T_ERGLER 

Commissioner  of  the  Czechoslovak  Republic 
in  the  United  States 


NEW  YORK 

CZECHOSLOVAK   ARTS  CLUB 

1919 


Reprinted  from  "  Asia," 
Journal  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association 

Second  Impression 


THOMAS  G.  MASARYK 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  CZECHOSLOVAK   REPUBLIC 


Copyright  Harris  &  Ewing 


/9Y2^3-ry 


THE  CZECHOSLOVAK  STATE 

I 

DURING  the  first  three  years  of  the 
\  World  War  the  heavy  hand  of  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian  despotism,  reinforced 
by  the  mailed  fist  of  Prussia,  permitted  nothing 
in  the  Czechoslovak  lands  that  even  remotely 
resembled  a  free  expression  of  opinion.  But  as 
soon  as  the  grip  of  the  Central  Powers  began  to 
weaken,  the  nation  was  able  again  to  give  ex- 
pression to  its  real  attitude.  It  was  then  that  Dr. 
Jan  Herben  contributed  to  the  famous  Czech 
daily,  the  Narodnz  Listy  of  Prague,  an  article 
declaring  that  international  law  cannot  pre- 
vent the  birth  of  a  new  state,  and  that  the  time 
of  proclaiming  its  maturity  and  capacity  to 
manage  its  affairs  is  a  nation's  own  preroga- 
tive. But,  Dr.  Herben  says,  though  the  claims 
of  a  state  to  existence  arise  from  its  very  birth, 
its  existence  cannot  prevent  a  certain  amount 
of  disarrangement  in  the  relations  of  the  pre- 
existing states. The  newstatemust  be  inscribed 
on  the  international  register.  International  law 
must  decide  whether  the  new  state  is  to 
gain  admission  into  the  society  of  old  states, 
whether  its  culture  entitles  it  to  become  a  law- 


M320824 


C  «  } 
ful  member,  and  whether  economically  and 
otherwise  it  can  command  the  respect  a  sov- 
ereign state  is  entitled  to.  The  corporate  stock 
of  Norway  in  1905  commanded  full  respect: 
in  1913  that  of  Albania  was  very  low.  Inter- 
national recognition  is  dependent  on  a  sort  of 
examination.  The  group  of  old  states  makes 
inquiries  as  to  whether  the  new-born  child  has 
the  capacity  of  becoming  a  member  on  equal 
terms,  and  especially  whether  it  does  not 
bring  with  it  the  germs  of  future  disturbance. 
What  would  be  the  result  of  such  an  exami- 
nation, should  the  Czechoslovak  Republic  be 
subjected  to  one? 

Many  of  the  questions  asked  by  Dr.  Her- 
ben  have  been  answered,  and  they  have  been 
answered  in  the  forms  prescribed  by  inter- 
national law.  All  the  great  Allied  powers,  and 
the  United  States,  have  recognized  the  right 
of  the  Czechoslovak  nation  to  independence 
and  sovereign  statehood.  There  is  in  existence 
a  recognized  Czechoslovak  Government.  The 
United  States  and  her  associates  in  the  war 
are  committed  to  the  policy  of  reestablishing 
the  ancient  Czech  state,  adjusted  to  modern 
conditions,  and  in  harmony  with  the  princi- 
ples of  nationality.  Before  so  committing  them- 
selves, these  governments  naturally  ascer- 


C    7    3 

tained  whether  not  only  as  a  matter  of  justice, 
but  also  as  a  matter  of  practical  statesman- 
ship this  step  was  possible  and  advisable,  and 
whether  the  new  state  is  endowed  with  all 
the  elements  that  make  for  permanency  and 
stability.  In  the  very  nature  of  things,  the 
general  public  cannot  always  inform  itself  as 
rapidly  as  governments,  and  so  it  occasion- 
ally happens  that  questions  are  asked  such  as: 
Have  the  Czechoslovaks  the  innate  ability  to 
build,  form,  or  create  a  state?  Have  they  the 
culture  that  is  necessary  for  an  independent 
nation  in  the  modern  world  ?  Have  they  the 
economic  resources  necessary  for  independent 
existence?  I  shall  endeavor  to  answer  briefly 
some  of  these  and  other  questions  which  ne- 
cessarily are  in  the  minds  of  many  to-day. 


II 

Mr.  John  W.  Burgess  of  Columbia  University, 
in  his  great  work,  Political  Science  and  Com- 
parative Constitutional  Law,  lays  down  the 
proposition  that  the  Teutonic  nations  are  the 
political  nations  par  excellence,  and  that  the 
Slavs  and  Greeks  lack  in  political  capacity. 
The  history  of  Bohemia  furnishes  a  refutation 
of  this  assumption. 

As  early  as  the  seventh  century,  when  the 
historical  data  relative  to  Bohemia  begin,  we 
find  evidences  of  an  established  Bohemian 
state.  In  the  eleventh  century  Bohemia,  Mora- 
via, Silesia,  and  Poland  were  united  under  Bre- 
tislav  I,  King  of  Bohemia,  and,  in  the  words  of 
Count  Luetzow,  the  eminent  historian, "The 
idea  of  a  West  Slav  Empire  seemed  on  the 
point  of  being  realized,  but  the  Germans 
stepped  in  to  prevent  the  formation  of  a  power- 
ful Slav  State  on  their  borders."  Otokar  II,  of 
the  House  of  Premysl,  for  a  time  extended 
Bohemian  rule  from  the  Adriatic  to  the  Baltic. 
Under  the  "National  King,"  George  of  Po- 
debrad,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  Bohemia  was 
a  European  power  of  the  first  rank. 

All  these  achievements,  attained  under  sov- 
ereigns belonging  to  houses  of  Czech  origin, 


C      9     ] 
certainly  show  a  high  degree  of  political  tal- 
ent. The  fa 61  that  later  Bohemia  succumbed  to 
overwhelming  brute  force  is  not  proof  of  want 
of  political  capacity. 

Perhaps  the  best  proof  of  the  political  power 
of  the  Czechoslovak  nation  lies  in  the  way 
its  revolution  against  Austria-Hungary  was 
conducted  and  consummated.  Like  all  non- 
German  nations,  it  was  caught  unprepared. 
But  without  any  cue  from  conventional  po- 
litical leadership,  the  people  to  a  man  adopted 
an  anti-Austrian  and  anti-German  attitude. 
The  Czechoslovak  soldier  refused  to  fight, 
and  went  over  to  the  Allied  armies  in  order 
to  reenlist  with  the  forces  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion, and  even,  as  in  Russia,  to  form  an  army 
of  his  own.  The  Czechoslovak  National  Coun- 
cil very  promptly  became  the  directing  body 
of  these  armies,  which  submitted  voluntarily 
to  its  authority.  Under  this  voluntary  discipline 
Czechoslovak  troops  performed  exploits,  the 
story  of  which  will  go  down  in  history  as  one 
of  the  noblest  classics  of  all  ages.  Here  surely 
we  have  conclusive  proof  of  the  ability  of  the 
Czechoslovak  peoples  to  govern  themselves. 
At  this  writing  reports  from  Prague  show  that 
the  transfer  of  power  from  Austrian  hands  to 
that  of  the  Czech  authorities  took  place  quietly 


C    1°    n 

and  without  any  excesses,  so  that  even  the 
Berliner  Tageblatt  declares  that  the  Czech  re- 
volution occurred  with  dignity,  and  in  a  man- 
ner showing  the  high  state  of  Czech  culture. 


Ill 

What  of  the  spiritual  values  created  by  the 
Czechs  in  the  past  and  present,  what  of  Czech 
culture?  It  is  historically  established  that  while 
the  Czechs  were  ruled  by  their  own  kings, 
and  while  they  were  unmolested  in  their 
affairs,  the  nation  prospered  and  grew  intel- 
lectually in  all  respects.  Bohemian  history  is 
replete  with  manifestations  of  idealism.  Spir- 
itual values  have  never  been  underestimated 
by  the  Czechs.  The  Hussite  war,  while  it  had 
its  social  and  economic  background,  was  fought 
for  a  religious  and  civic  ideal,  and  for  the 
rights  of  the  Czech  language  against  the  ag- 
gression of  the  Germans. 

Palacky,the  great  Bohemian  historian, may 
have  been  swayed  by  national  pride,  but  never- 
theless his  contention  that  the  Hussite  war  is 
"the  first  war  in  the  world's  history  that  was 
fought  not  for  material  interest,  but  for  intel- 
lectual ones,  for  ideas,"  is  not  groundless. 

Itmust  always  be  remembered  that  theCzech 
John  Hus  preceded  Luther  by  a  century ;  that 
Comenius  ( Komensky )  was  one  of  the  great- 
est educators  of  all  ages ;  that  Peter  Chelcicky 
preceded  Tolstoy  by  four  hundred  years ;  that 


C  ^    1 

the  Czech  warrior  Zizka  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  originators  of  modern  strategy. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
in  spite  of  unexampled  persecution  and  oppres- 
sion by  the  governments  of  Vienna  and  Buda- 
pest, the  nation  reached  a  cultural  level  sur- 
passing that  of  any  other  nationality  in  Austria- 
Hungary.  In  literature  and  arts  it  is  second 
to  none.  In  modern  times  it  has  produced  at 
least  three  poets  of  the  first  rank,  Vrchlicky, 
Cech,  and  Machar.  Of  the  musicians  and  com- 
posers, one  need  only  to  mention  Smetana, 
Dvorak,  and  Kovarovic.  Of  the  novelists  there 
is  a  legion,  and  they  have  given  the  world 
real  works  of  art.  In  philosophy,  the  names  of 
Masaryk,  Krejci,  and  Drtina  are  known  to  all 
scholars. 

According  to  the  official  statistics  of  the 
United  States  Immigration  Bureau,  of  all  the 
immigrants  to  the  United  States  the  Czechs 
show  one  of  the  lowest  percentages  of  illiter- 
acy.Thus,  of  the  8439  Czech  arrivals  in  this 
country  in  the  year  1912,  there  were  only  75 
illiterates,  about  .008875  per  cent.  Almost  all 
the  Czech  immigrants  are  skilled  workmen  or 
farmers.  Their  eagerness  for  knowledge  and 
education  is  well  known.  As  an  illustration, 
in  the  schools  of  the  forty  northern  and  east- 


C    is    3 

ern  counties  of  Nebraska  there  are  no  less 
than  three  hundred  teachers  of  Czech  parent- 
age, several  of  whom  are  superintendents  of 
schools.  In  Chicago,  their  natural  ethnic  cen- 
tre in  America,  there  are  hundreds  of  Czech 
physicians,  lawyers,  teachers,  and  architects. 
The  buildings  of  the  State  of  Illinois  at  the 
Panama  Exposition  in  San  Francisco  were 
designed  by  a  Czech  architect.  Statistics  also 
show  that  crimes  of  the  graver  sort  are  prac- 
tically non-existent  among  Czechoslovaks. 

The  Czechoslovaks  have  their  faults  and 
vices,  no  doubt,  the  same  as  all  other  national- 
ities, but  political  juggling  is  not  one  of  them. 
The  Czechoslovak  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence of  November  15,  1915,  declares  that 
"  We  take  the  side  of  the  fighting  Slav  nations 
and  their  Allies,  without  regard  to  viclory  or 
defeat,  because  right  is  on  their  side.  The 
problem  which  side  is  right  in  this  fatal  war  is 
a  question  of  principles  and  of  political  morals, 
a  question  which  at  present  no  honest  and  sin- 
cere statesman,  no  conscientious  and  thinking 
nation,  can  evade." 

This  statement,  I  think,  represents  the  best 
Czech  thought  on  the  subject  of  politics  and 
political  morals.  To  them  politics  is  notagame, 
but  an  expression  of  the  nation's  hopes  and 


C  14  3 
desires.  The  best  proof  of  this  lies  in  the  fa<5t 
that  the  manifesto  was  issued  when  the  Rus- 
sian army  was  forced  to  retreat  from  the  Car- 
pathians, and  when  the  situation,  from  the 
Allies'  point  of  view,  was  gloomy  indeed. 

Freedom  regained,  liberty  achieved,  such  a 
nation  will  add  still  more  to  the  world's  spir- 
itual treasures. 


IV 

But,  we  are  told,  the  Czechoslovak  State  will  be 
a  small  one,  and,  as  a  result,  its  existence  pre- 
carious, assuming  that  the  world  will  remain 
in  anything  like  its  present  condition  of  inter- 
national disorganization. 

In  the  first  place,  as  modern  states  go, 
the  new  state  will  not  be  a  small  one,  since 
it  has  a  population  of  about  twelve  millions, 
and  consists  of  what  are  commonly  called  the 
Bohemian  countries,  namely,  Bohemia,  Mo- 
ravia, and  Silesia,  to  which  will  be  added  the 
Slovak  districts  of  North  Hungary,  from  Ung- 
var,  through  Kaschau  along  the  ethnographi- 
cal boundaries  down  the  river  Ipoly  (Eipel) 
to  the  Danube,  including  Pressburg  and  the 
whole  Slovak  north  to  the  frontier  line  of 
Hungary.  The  Slovaks  are  the  branch  of 
the  nation  that  has  suffered  under  Magyar 
domination.  Time  and  again  they  have  ac- 
cepted the  programme  of  Czechoslovak  union. 
The  extent  of  the  new  state  will  be  about 
50,000  English  square  miles:  Belgium  has 
1 1 ,373  square  miles.  It  is  obvious  that  the  new 
state  can  hardly  be  classed  as  small. 

Moreover,  the  belief  in  the  necessity  for 
large  states,  prevalent  in  a  certain  school  of 


economic  and  political  theorists,  and  largely 
based  upon  teachings  of  Karl  Marx,  is  one  of 
the  superstitions  that  periodically  appear,  in 
order  to  be  abandoned  upon  a  sober  second 
thought.  The  reaction  against  it  has  already 
set  in,  as  evidenced  by  an  address  delivered 
some  time  ago  by  Mr.  L.  P.  Jacks,  editor  of  the 
Hibbert  Journal ,  before  the  London  Sociologi- 
cal Society. 

Mr.  Jacks  thinks  that  before  long  we  shall 
see  the  rise  of  a  new  criticism  of  the  whole 
idea  of  government.  What,  he  asks,  are  the 
limits  of  government?  Will  not  the  tendency 
be  to  eliminate  a  number  of  unmanageable 
propositions  from  the  scope  of  human  design? 
Mr.  Jacks  believes  that  the  next  great  move- 
ment of  political  thought  will  be  in  the  direc- 
tion of  restricting  rather  than  expanding, 
concentrating  rather  than  spreading,  the  ob- 
jects of  social  endeavor.  The  deeper  thought, 
he  says,  starts  from  the  human  end  of  the 
problem;  its  first  principle  is  that " industrial 
civilization  is  made  for  man,  not  man  for  in- 
dustrial civilization/'  Viscount  Bryce  thinks 
that  possibly  some  modern  states  have  be- 
come too  big  to  manage.  Mr.  Justice  Louis  D. 
Brandeis  once  showed  pretty  conclusively 
that  even  under  modern  conditions  certain 


C     17     H 
business  concerns  can  become  so  large  that 
their  successful  administration  becomes  al- 
most physically  impossible.  May  this  not  be 
equally  true  of  states  ? 

The  theory  that  small  states  and  nations 
cannot  succeed  is  not  borne  out  by  history. 
Even  prior  to  the  war  there  were  in  Europe 
twenty-seven  states,  and  the  great  majority 
of  these  were  small.  There  were  only  six  of 
the  so-called  great  powers:  Russia, Germany, 
Austria-Hungary, England, France, and  Italy. 
Portugal,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  Bulgaria, 
Belgium,  Norway,  Sweden,  Serbia,  Greece, 
Holland,  Montenegro,  and  Turkey  all  are,  or 
were,  smaller  than  the  Czechoslovak  Repub- 
lic. The  last  named  will  hold  in  Europe  the 
eighth  place,  only  England,  Germany,  Po- 
land, France,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Russia  being 
larger. 


In  so  far  as  any  state  is  economically  and 
commercially  self-sustaining,  that  of  the  Cze- 
choslovaks will  be  able  to  stand  upon  its  own 
feet.  Even  prior  to  the  war,  economically  and 
financially  Bohemia  was  one  of  the  richest  of 
the  Austrian  "provinces."  Of  the  burden  of 
Austrian  taxation,  62.7  per  cent  was  borne  by 
the  Czech  countries,  while  the  rest  of  Austria 
carried  only  37.3  per  cent.  And  now,  freed 
from  oppressive  taxation,  levied  in  order  to 
lighten  the  burden  upon  purely  Austrian  dis- 
tricts incapable  of  maintaining  themselves,  the 
Czechs  will  be  even  richer. 

The  Bohemian  lands  surpassed  what  were 
once  the  other  Austrian  lands  in  the  produc- 
tion of  grain.  Of  the  grain  lands  of  the  for- 
mer Austrian  Empire,  thirty-eight  per  cent  is 
found  in  Bohemia.  Eighty-three  per  cent  of 
Austrian  coal  is  mined  in  the  Bohemian  lands. 
Sixty  per  cent  of  the  Austrian  iron  is  located 
there.  Ninety  per  cent,  if  not  more,  of  the  beet 
sugar  factories  of  Austria  are  located  in  the 
lands  of  the  Bohemian  Crown ;  the  textile  in- 
dustry is  of  large  proportions,  and  leather, 
paper,  furniture,  and  electro-technical  indus- 
tries are  of  importance. 


C      19      ] 

The  Encylopaedia  Americana  states  the  in- 
dustrial resources  of  Bohemia  as  follows: 

"The  industry  of  Bohemia,  favored  by  its 
central  situation,  has  long  rendered  it  one 
of  the  most  important  governments  of  the 
Austrian  Empire.  Spinning  and  weaving  are 
extensively  carried  on  in  the  northern  and 
southeastern  districts;  manufactures  of  lace, 
ribbons,  metal  and  wood  work ,  chemical  pro- 
ducts, and  other  branches  of  skilled  industry 
are  also  largely  developed.  Pottery,  porce- 
lain, glassware,  cutting  of  precious  stones, 
give  employment  to  many  hands.  The  glass- 
ware of  Bohemia  alone,  which  is  known  all 
over  Europe,  employs  50,000  workers.  Large 
quantities  of  beer  (Pilsener)  of  the  kind 
known  as  lager  are  exported.  Prague,  the 
capital,  is  the  centre  of  the  manufactures  and 
of  the  commerce  of  the  country.  The  largest 
towns  are  Prague,  Pilsen,Reichenberg,  Bud- 
weis,Teplitz,  Aussig,  and  Eger.  For  internal 
intercourse  there  are  excellent  highways,  ex- 
tending to  ten  thousand  miles,  and  several 
important  lines  of  railway  leading  both  south- 
east to  Vienna  and  northwest  to  Dresden." 

Slovakia, forming  the  northern  part  of  what 
we  used  to  know  as  Hungary,  has  been  very 
much  neglected,  its  mineral  resources  still 


C       20       3 

remaining  undeveloped.  United  to  the  Czech 
countries,  it  will  be  a  source  of  strength  to  the 
Czechoslovak  State.  In  1913  one-third  of  all 
the  iron,  gold,  and  silver  mined  in  Hungary 
was  mined  in  Slovakia. 

These  figures  are  sufficient  to  show  that 
Austria  actually  was  a  parasite  living  on  the 
wealth  of  the  Czech  countries. 


VI 

But  of  what  avail,  we  may  be  asked,  will  all 
these  resources  prove,  since  Bohemia  has  no 
port,  having  a  seashore  only  in  Shakespeare? 

Switzerland  shows  how  a  state  can  prosper, 
though  land-locked.  In  any  event,  with  mod- 
ern means  of  communication,  direct  access 
to  the  sea  is  not  as  important  as  it  was  in  the 
past.  The  sea,  after  all,  is  a  means  of  commu- 
nication :  whether  the  means  of  communica- 
tion be  the  ocean  or  the  railroad,  the  means  do 
not  make  so  much  difference. 

The  demand  for  what  has  been  called  eco- 
nomic rights  of  way  for  land-locked  states  is 
becoming  more  and  more  insistent,  and  there 
is  back  of  it  all  the  prestige  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  for  in  his  message  of  Jan- 
uary 8,  1917,  the  President  formulated  the 
principle  that  free  access  to  the  sea  must  be 
granted  to  inland  countries. 

The  idea  of  a  corridor  between  the  South 
Slav  and  Czechoslovak  states  has  been  advo- 
cated. Such  a  corridor  would  give  the  latter 
access  to  the  Serbo-Croatian  ports.  This  is  ad- 
mittedly a  difficult  question,  but  it  is  obvious 
that  for  many  reasons  it  would  be  well  so  to 
arrange  the  boundaries  as  to  make  these  two 


C       *2       1 

Slav  commonwealths  neighbors.  The  idea  has 
been  attacked  as  imperialistic  and  contrary  to 
the  principle  of  nationality.  Whatever  may 
be  thought  of  it,  it  is  not  contrary  to  the  lat- 
ter as  is  contended  by  some,  because  the  strip 
in  question,  consisting  of  two  present  Hunga- 
rian counties,  and  a  part  of  a  third,  contains 
a  large  number  of  Slavs. 

In  the  north  the  new  state  will  border  on 
a  united  Poland,  with  whom  relations  will  cer- 
tainly be  very  friendly.  This  will  assure  an 
outlet  to  the  Baltic. 

Another  way  of  gaining  access  to  seaports 
is  by  internationalization  of  such  waterways  as 
the  Elbe  and  the  Danube.  It  is  probable  that 
internationalization  of  waterways  will  be  a 
feature  of  the  coming  international  readjust- 
ment, and  that  a  free  Danube  will  connecl  the 
Czechoslovaks  with  the  Jugoslavs  and  Ruma- 
nians in  the  south. 


VII 

Lately,  both  in  America  and  Great  Britain, 
a  certain  apprehension  has  been  expressed 
over  the  possible  fate  of  the  German  mi- 
nority in  Bohemia.  In  Central  and  Eastern 
Europe  hardly  any  state  can  be  constructed 
without  national  minorities.  The  rights  of 
these  minorities  must  be  safeguarded,  of 
course.  But  one  cannot  help  remarking  that 
the  gentlemen  who  now  feel  that  the  Czech 
majority  might  oppress  the  German  minority, 
seldom,  if  ever,  exhibited  the  solicitude  they 
now  show  when  it  was  a  question  of  the  Ger- 
man minority  oppressing  the  Czech  majority. 
The  official  Austrian  statistics  showed  the 
following  distribution  of  population  according 
to  nationality: 


Slavs: 


Latins: 

Germans: 
Magyars: 
Others: 


Czechoslovaks         8.4  million 


Jugoslavs 

Poles 

Ruthenes 

Italians 
Rumanians 


6.8  million 
5  million 
4      million 

0.8  million 
3.2  million 


•  24.2  million 


illion  \ 
illion  f 


Total 


million 


22       million 

1       million 
51       million 


[  24  1 
But  these  official  statistics  are  notoriously 
false,  and  grossly  exaggerated  in  favor  of  the 
Germans  and  Magyars.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Austrian  census  is  not  based 
upon  nationality,  but  upon  what  is  called  the 
language  of  intercourse  (  Umgangsprache) , 
and  that,  furthermore,  in  districts  with  large 
Czech  minorities,  or  even  actual  majorities, 
economic  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
workmen  dependent  upon  German  masters 
of  industry  to  declare  their  language  of  inter- 
course to  be  German.  It  has  been  ascertained 
by  the  Czech  National  Council  in  Prague  that 
in  western  and  northwestern  Bohemia,  which 
the  Germans  claim  to  be  wholly  German  ter- 
ritory, there  are  271,542  members  of  various 
Czech  national  organizations.  Private  but  ab- 
solutely reliable  statistics  indicate  that  the  per- 
centage of  Germans  in  Bohemia  can  hardly 
be  more  than  twenty  per  cent,  as  against  the 
thirty-seven  percent  shown  by  the  official  cen- 
sus. Conditions  in  Hungary  are  even  worse. 
There  the  Magyars  officially  form  fifty-one 
per  cent  of  the  population,  but  hold  four  hun- 
dred and  five  seats  in  the  Parliament,  out  of 
a  total  of  four  hundred  and  thirteen.  The  fol- 
lowing table,  compiled  by  authorities  on  the 
ethnical  situation  in  Austria-Hungary,  affords 


C     25     ] 
a  more  reliable  basis  forjudging  conditions  in 
Austria-Hungary  than  the  official  census. 


Slavs  : 

Czechoslovaks 

10      million 

Jugoslavs 
Poles 

7.5  million 
5      million 

-  27  million 

Ruthenes 

4.5  million 

Latins: 

Italians 
Rumanians 

1      million  )            .... 

....       [     5  million 
4      million  ' 

Germans  : 

10      million  1 

....       f  18  million 
8      million  ) 

Magyars: 

Others  : 

1  million 

Total 

51  million 

I  show  these  figures  merely  to  indicate  that 
the  problem  is  not  as  difficult  as  the  Germans 
endeavor  to  make  it  appear.  In  any  event, 
because  the  Germans  and  Magyars  oppress 
the  Czechoslovaks,  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
latter  will  oppress  the  former.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fa6l  that  during  the  whole  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  not  a  single  Czech  statesman 
advocated,  even  indireclly,  the  oppression  of 
other  peoples.  On  the  contrary,  the  Czechs 
always  emphasized  the  facl:  that  they  would 
accord  their  German  citizens  complete  civil 
rights,  which,  of  course,  include  cultural 
rights.  The  great  Czech  historian  and  states- 
man, Palacky,  said  that  we  never  had,  nor 
ever  shall  have,  the  intention  of  oppressing 


C  26  ] 
other  people;  that,  true  to  our  character,  re- 
jecting all  desire  for  the  revenge  of  past 
wrongs,  we  extend  our  right  hand  to  all  our 
neighbors  who  are  prepared  to  recognize  the 
equality  of  all  nations  without  regard  to  their 
size  or  political  power.  Havlicek,  the  Czech 
leader  in  1 848, said  that  oppression  never  pro- 
duces good  results,  and  in  time  brings  ven- 
geance upon  the  heads  of  its  own  originators. 
However,  it  should  be  pointed  out  here 
that  the  principle  of  self-determination  of  na- 
tions is  frequently  confused  with  that  of  the 
rights  of  national  minorities.  In  the  Pravnicke 
Rozhledy  of  Prague  for  May,  1 91 8,  the  Czech 
jurist,  Dr.  J.  Kalab,  discusses  the  claim  some- 
times made  that  the  idea  of  self-determina- 
tion of  nations  cannot  be  realized,  because  in 
almost  every  territory  there  are  found  mem- 
bers of  foreign  nations.  Those  who  reason  in 
this  way,  he  declares,  fail  to  differentiate  be- 
tween the  principle  of  self-determination  of 
nations  and  the  principle  of  civic  liberty.  Both 
are  derived  from  the  principle  of  people's  sov- 
ereignty. But  civic  liberty  determines  the  legal 
status  of  each  individual,  whereas  the  self- 
determination  of  nations  determines  the  status 
of  entire  nations.  The  nation  as  a  whole,  as 
a  cultural  unit,  cannot  be  subordinate  to  any 


[  27  ] 
one  else.  But  that  does  not  mean  that  every 
individual  whom  fate  might  have  blown  into 
the  midst  of  another  nation  is  entitled  to  de- 
mand the  right  of  self-determination.  He,  like 
every  one  else,  is  entitled  to  civic  liberty. 

Self-determination  of  nations  is  something 
substantially  different  from  national  auton- 
omy. National  autonomy  is  the  right  of  citi- 
zens of  a  certain  nationality  to  have  the  con- 
ditions of  their  cultural  development  guaran- 
teed in  a  state  ruled  by  another  culture,  or 
the  manner  in  which  the  state  shall  guaran- 
tee to  members  of  a  foreign  nationality  their 
civic  liberty.  Self-determination,  on  the  other 
hand,  constitutes  the  demand  that  the  nation 
as  a  whole  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  make 
use  of  all  its  powers  in  the  service  of  its  na- 
tional interests  so  that  it  may  enforce  its  indi- 
viduality in  all  directions,  including  the  life  of 
the  state,  of  course  within  the  limitations  set 
by  international  law. 

The  Czechoslovaks  have  pledged  them- 
selves to  grant  the  German  minority  in  Bo- 
hemia full  liberty  and  equal  rights.  In  fact, 
they  are  in  favor  of  an  international  law  pro- 
tecting the  rights  of  national  minorities,  and 
it  may  be  one  of  the  functions  of  the  future 
League  of  Nations  to  see  to  it  that  national 


c  28  n 

minorities  are  protected  against  attempts  at 
denationalization. 

Czechoslovak  minorities  outside  of  the  state 
will  also  exist, and,  judging  from  pastGerman 
history,  will  need  this  protection.  Let  it  never 
be  forgotten  that  there  is  a  Czech  minority  of 
at  least  400,000  in  Vienna,  and  that  there  will 
be  Czechoslovak  minorities  elsewhere  in  lower 
Austria,  as  well  as  in  Hungary,  even  though 
the  latter  be  reduced  as  near  as  possible  to  its 
proper  ethnical  boundaries. 


VIII 

While  fully  conscious  that  the  future  Czecho- 
slovak State  will  be  strong,  and  not  wholly 
powerless  against  aggression,  yet  we  under- 
stand that  if  the  independence  of  smaller  na- 
tions is  to  be  safeguarded,  a  new  international 
arrangement  must  be  substituted  for  the  here- 
tofore prevailing  system  of  shifting  alliances. 

During  the  demonstrations  in  Prague  on 
May  17,  1918,  a  resolution  was  passed  at  a 
meeting  described  by  the  Czech  press  as  the 
Congress  of  Oppressed  Nations  of  Austria- 
Hungary.  Among  those  who  adopted  the  res- 
olution were  representatives  of  all  Czechoslo- 
vak and  Jugoslav  parties,  Rumanian  and  Ital- 
ian deputies,  and  Polish  representatives.  The 
resolution  includes  the  following  paragraph : 

"The  representatives  of  Slav  and  Latin  na- 
tions who  for  centuries  past  have  suffered 
under  foreign  oppression,  assembled  in  Prague 
this  seventeenth  day  of  May,  1918,  united  in 
a  common  purpose  to  do  everything  in  their 
power  to  assure  full  liberty  and  independence 
to  their  respective  nations  after  this  terrible 
war.  They  are  agreed  that  a  better  future  for 
their  nations  will  be  founded  and  assured  by 
a  world  democracy,  by  a  real  and  sovereign 


C    so    u 

national  self-government,  and  by  a  universal 
League  of  Nations  endowed  with  the  necessary 
authority." 

The  jurisdiction,  authority,  and  power  of  a 
League  of  Nations  will  be  largely  a  matter  of 
growth.  It  is  notto  be  expected  that  the  League 
will  immediately  possess  the  authority  it  ulti- 
mately should  achieve.  Until  such  time  all  na- 
tions that  have  fought  together  in  the  present 
war  must  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  re- 
sist new  schemes  of  German  aggression,  for 
it  cannot  be  expecled  that  the  German,  nur- 
tured for  decades  upon  schemes  of  conquest, 
will  immediately  abandon  ideas  which  for  so 
long  a  time  have  been  the  motive  power  of 
German  statesmanship,  including  the  German 
Social  Democracy,  led  by  such  men  as  Schei- 
demann  and  Cunow.  The  latter,  in  1914,  in 
an  article  in  the  Sozialistiche  Monatshefte ,  en- 
deavored to  prove  the  proposition  that  small 
nations,  such  as  Belgium,  have  lost  their  right 
to  exist. 


IX 

Of  the  constitution  of  the  new  state  perhaps 
little  need  be  said.  The  Czechoslovaks  are  a 
democratic  nation,  and  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence issued  by  the  Czechoslovak  Pro- 
visional Government  on  October  19,  1918, 
succinctly  outlines  the  future  constitution  in  so 
far  as  this  can  be  done  prior  to  the  decisions  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly.  It  states: 

"The  Czechoslovak  State  shall  be  a  repub- 
lic. In  constant  endeavor  for  progress  it  will 
"  guarantee  complete  freedom  of  conscience, 
"  religion  and  science,  literature  and  art, 
"  speech,  the  press,  and  the  right  of  assembly 
"and  petition.  The  Church  shall  be  separated 
"from  the  State.  Our  democracy  shall  rest  on 
"universal  suffrage;  women  shall  be  placed 
"on  an  equal  footing  with  men  politically, 
"  socially  and  culturally.  The  rights  of  the  mi- 
"nority  shall  be  safeguarded  by  proportional 
"representation;  national  minorities  shall  en- 
"joy  equal  rights.  The  government  shall  be 
"parliamentary  in  form  and  shall  recognize 
"the  principles  of  initiative  and  referendum. 
"The  standing  army  will  be  replaced  by  mi- 
"litia. 

"  The  Czechoslovak  Nation  will  carry  out 


C       32       ] 

"far-reaching  social  and  economic  reforms; 
"the  large  estates  will  be  redeemed  for  home 
"colonization,  patents  of  nobility  will  be  abol- 
ished. Our  nation  will  assume  its  part  of  the 
"Austro-Hungarian  pre-war  public  debt; — 
"the debts  for  this  war  we  leave  to  those  who 
"incurred  them. 

"In  its  foreign  policy  the  Czechoslovak 
"  Nation  will  accept  its  full  share  of  respon- 
sibility in  the  reorganization  of  Eastern 
"Europe.  It  accepts  fully  the  democratic  and 
"social  principle  of  nationality  and  subscribes 
"to  the  do6lrine  that  all  covenants  and  trea- 
"  ties  shall  be  entered  into  openly  and  frankly 
"  without  secret  diplomacy. 

"  Our  constitution  shall  provide  an  efficient, 
"rational,  and  just  government,  which  will 
"  exclude  all  special  privileges  and  prohibit 
"class  legislation." 


X 

The  Czechoslovaks  stand  before  the  public 
opinion  of  the  world  with  a  firm  consciousness 
that  their  cause  is  just,  and  that  they  have 
fought  for  it  cleanly  and  fairly.  They  proudly 
maintain  that  their  shield  is  without  a  stain. 
They  are  simply  asking  and  fighting  for 
what  is  due  them,  and  for  nothing  more.  They 
have  never  been  guilty  of  oppression ;  they 
have  never  sought  what  properly  belongs  to 
their  neighbors.  They  have  proved  their  case 
to  the  very  hilt.  The  white  and  red  flag  of  the 
Czechoslovak  State  has  been  raised,  never  to 
come  down  again. 


Washington,  D.  C. 
December,  1918 


D.  B.  Updike,  The  Merrymwnt  Press,  Boston 


THE  CZECHOSLOVAK  STATE 


CHARLES  PERGLER 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

.-,    ,.rf    :'v 

PEC'D  LD 

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